Wargrave Local History Society

AUTHOR Paul Lacey spoke about the history of Smith’s Coaches of Reading at the October meeting.

He told how the company was founded by Alf Smith, a former gardener and apprentice mechanic.

Smith served in France during the First World War and when it ended was employed at the “Slough Dump”, where thousands of former military vehicles were sold to former servicemen, who set up haulage, bus, or charabanc companies.

Smith was made redundant in 1921 and bought an ex-army Thornycroft chassis of his own, which he refurbished.

He could not find a buyer so his mother-in-law suggested that he replace the lorry body with a charabanc, a type of early bus used for pleasure trips.

The new vehicle, called the Bluebird, was put on the road by Smith in partnership with his sister’s fiancé Charlie Tanton in 1922.

The first trip was from Reading to Bracknell and Bagshot, returning via
Finchampstead.

The pair were soon being asked to take parties to the coast and the following year bought a new, more modern charabanc which allowed them to go on longer trips.

Towards the end of 1925, Smith and Tanton had a major disagreement following an accident and ended their partnership.

Tanton traded independently until 1929, when he went bankrupt trying to compete with Smith.

Both used the name the Bluebird for a while but to distinguish the two firms, another of Smith’s sisters-in-law suggested he adopt the name Rainbow Coaches and orange was added to their livery.

In the late Twenties coach travel became more sophisticated and Smith soon took over the Silver Grey Coaches of south Reading, run by Charlie Cox.

When the Second World War broke out, much coach work was stopped and about a third of Smith’s vehicles were requisitioned by the military.

Having good relations with vehicle dealers, he was able to acquire a number of replacements and some of his jobs included carrying workers to munitions and aircraft factories and prisoners of war to work on farms.

After the war, Smith again bought vehicles from the military, including some of those they had had requisitioned. Many were in poor condition but the company staff were skilled in getting them back into a usable condition.

To aid the shortage of vehicles, 32 old single-deckers were obtained from Scotland to get the company running again quickly.

People were keen to travel — on just one day Smith’s sent 66 coaches out on their express services.

The company also had a fleet of cars, so that if three or four people from an outlying village had booked they could be taken by car to meet the coaches.

There would also be annual days out by church groups, factory workers and villages and a rent collector in south Reading would arrange an annual trip to the pantomime for up to 500 people.

Vehicles acquired at this time included many made by bus builders Dennis — newer ones used for tours and express services and older vehicles for contract work such as taking workers to Aldermaston and Harwell.

To cope with the numbers of workers, Smith’s added double-deckers to the company’s fleet for these contracts.

Some of the drivers were employees at the factories so the bus stayed on site during the working day to avoid journeys empty back to the garage.

Meanwhile, garage provision in Reading had become a problem. Smith’s had been hoped to rebuild on its sites in Katesgrove but could not get permission to buy the steel needed.

The site of the former Silver Grey garage was another option but the surrounding area was by then used for housing, so the council refused planning consent.

Land at Rose Kiln Lane was eventually acquired and a former RAF hangar measuring 90ft x 140ft was put up.

The fleet was expanded and modernised and grew to become the largest private coach operator in the South.

Smith, who served as Mayor of Reading, died in 1976. His family continued to run the business until 1979, when it was sold to an investment company and faded into obscurity.

For more information about Mr Lacey’s books, visit www.paullacey
transportbooks.co.uk

The society’s next meeting will take place on Tuesday, November 13, when David Lewis will talk about the history of Old Windsor.

On Tuesday, December 11, the society will hold its Christmas party.

Meetings take place at the Old Pavilion on the recreation ground off Recreation Road, starting at 8pm.

For more information, call Peter Delaney on 0118 940 3121 or visit
www.wargravehistory.org.uk